Some five dozen dogs and cats that lived in storm-damaged shelters in New York and elsewhere that the superstorm hit were flown yesterday to a shelter in the California city, where they will be put up for adoption.

The hurricane was actually a lifesaver for the animals. They faced euthanasia in the Northeast if new homes could not be found, and shelters were already overcrowded.

“These are the silent victims,’’ said Mike Arms, head of San Diego’s Helen Woodward Animal Center. “There have been shelters that have been devastated by Hurricane Sandy.”, without electricity, without supplies,.’ he said